Teachers cited for excellence

Two are surprised in their classrooms with Teacher of the Year awards.

January 30, 2013|By Jeremiah Dobruck

Kristen Johnson and Yassi Motamed work about 10 miles away from each other, but on Tuesday morning, they got the same surprise in their respective classrooms.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District selected them as elementary and secondary school teachers of the year.

Just after 8 a.m., school officials sneaked into Johnson's class at Newport Coast Elementary School, and then Motamed's, at TeWinkle Middle School in Costa Mesa.

"It was a whirlwind yesterday — everything was a blur," Johnson said, adding that staffers at the front desk thought something might be wrong when the superintendent and school board members showed up asking for her.